What Would You Like?
by stars90
Summary: AU post vs. Tom Sawyer. Given the magnitude of the situation and how close a call it was, Chuck's heroics come to the attention of some powerful people.
1. Chapter 1

**My First Chuck story!**

**Disclaimer: I haven't known Chuck long enough to own it.**

The President of the United States sat at his desk, breathing a sigh of relief. For the past two hours everyone in the White House had been on tenderhooks with the potential possibility of an imminent start to World War 3. It appeared that some nutcases in California had found a way to hack into an old weapons satellite designed by a Japanese software guru named Morimoto and direct the weapons down toward the US. It had appeared the only way to avoid mass civilian casualties was to launch an ICBM at the satellite, but since those missiles were almost exclusively associated with intercontinental nuclear weapons, the launching of one would've caused a massive upheaval which would've had the potential to spark an international incident before they could calm the waters. Fortunately, it appeared an intelligence team in the area had been able to disarm the satellite at the last moment. When the President was convinced he could speak once more without vomiting up his heart, he turned to his chief of staff.

"Bob, I want a complete report on just how that team managed to head off this crisis."

Several hours later the President was back at his desk having attended to a number of events on his schedule, reading the report his chief of staff had handed him for the 3rd time as he hadn't been able to believe it the first 2.

"Let me get this straight. Morimoto hid the codes to his weapons satellite in the final victory screen of a supposedly unbeatable 1980s video game!?"

"Yes, sir."

"A team consisting of an NSA agent, a CIA agent, and a **civilian** cornered Morimoto trying to finish beating his game to get the codes and deactivate the satellite right before he was taken out by a bomb."

"Yes, Sir."

"Said civilian then proceeded to formulate a plan attempt to convince the former champion of this video game who is now a compulsive alcoholic and drug addict to beat the game in time."

"Yes, sir."

"He succeeded in persuading him, but the civilian fainted under the pressure, despite not knowing the stakes, so he took it upon himself to play the game, realized the game was linked to a mathematical pattern from a pop song, and used it to beat the game and get the codes to his partner who had infiltrated the terrorist compound at the last possible second."

"Yes, sir."

"For crying out loud, Bob, can't you say anything other than 'yes, sir' to this?! Am I the only one who finds this a little out there?"

"No, sir," his chief of staff replied, mouth twitching.

The President threw up his hands in exasperation at his chief of staff's antics, before looking back down at the report. "What's the deal with this civilian anyway? What's he doing on a team of covert agents?"

"Team information is in the next folder, sir."

The President picked up the report and read it cover to cover. This one he had to read 5 more times before he could grasp it. Finally he looked back up.

"Are you seriously telling me that a rogue CIA operative destroyed a computer containing thousands of classified secrets, but not before tricking someone he'd betrayed in college into downloading them into his brain!?"

"Yes, sir."

The President put his hands over his eyes. "I need an aspirin."

His chief of staff, having expected this, simply held out his hand, Advil nestled in his palm. The President glared but took the pill.

"Who is this guy?"

"His dossier is on the next page, sir."

The President took a moment to review it and closed the folder, his head bowed in thought. This man had not had an easy life. His mother had left when he was 9, and his father did the same a year later, leaving him and his sister to fend for themselves. He had managed to get himself a scholarship to Stanford, only to get kicked out in his senior year after being framed by his best friend for cheating on a test. Said best friend proceeded to have an affair with his girlfriend whom he was about to propose to. He'd been in a rut for the next 5 years, until his life had been spun clear out of control when the aforementioned and not very appropriately named best friend had downloaded a government computer into his brain, leaving him in a position of having 2 federal agencies barging into his life and putting him in danger repeatedly in order to use the secrets now contained in his skull.

But that wasn't all that got the President's attention. It was the attitude this man had taken. Here was a worker in an electronics store suddenly dragged kicking and screaming into the world of international espionage. He had no training, no preparation. His life was not allowed to continue unaffected. He had been forced to lie repeatedly to his family and friends. He was unable to pursue a relationship with a woman because one of the agents on his team had established a cover as his girlfriend. But instead of complaining bitterly or giving trouble, this man had gone out of his way to help. From what the President had read, this guy seemed to have an issue with following the directions of his handlers because he refused to sit idly by while others were in danger. He'd been shot at, beaten, threatened with torture, and he still came back for more. And now he had saved the entire country and potentially the entire world from becoming embroiled in a horrific war due to one man's madness.

"Bob, get me a call to Burbank, California. I want to speak with Chuck Bartowski."

**Please let me know if I should continue!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! I'm speechless. I'm completely blown away by the incredible response I received so quickly when this story came out. I love you guys! **

**This story breaks in before the end of the episode. Before Chuck goes home for the dinner where he finds out about the diploma.**

**I chose to use a fictional President because I didn't feel comfortable making personal/political statements about a real person whom I don't know, so I used a favorite President from another TV show. No other crossover.**

**Disclaimer: Don't Own Chuck.**

Chuck sat at the table in Castle with Sarah and Casey trying as hard as he could not to fidget as the 3 of them finished up their final report to General Beckman on the incident with Morimoto's weapons satellite. The last couple of days had felt like they would never end - well, to be fair, pretty much the entire time since his life had been invaded by the government and their supercomputer had been like that, but this had been a really difficult situation. It wasn't the whirlwind nightmare of the day after discovering the Fulcrum bug in the Buy More, although that aspect had been present in the race to stop the satellite, nor was it the abrupt kick in the teeth that had been finding Bryce in Sarah's hotel room. It was a slow toothache that just kept getting worse and worse. What's more, it was a toothache which had been building for longer than the last few days; much longer. After getting kicked out of Stanford, he'd fallen into a 5 year rut where he didn't know where his life was going. One of the casualties of that rut had been some of his sister's respect for him. Oh she would always say differently, but Chuck knew she was disappointed that he'd allowed himself to fall so far. And why shouldn't she be? He'd been just 12 credits away from graduating from one of the top colleges in the country, and here he was working in a Buy More, and not even taking any promotions there. No, he definitely couldn't blame her for being disappointed in him. It had just been particularly hard to see it on her face, hear it in her voice as she spoke to him about hanging out with Jeff and his career plans. Ellie had been the one who raised him when his parents left. She had taken care of him, sacrificed her own opportunities for him. And as far as she knew, the sum total of his repayment had been a dead end job. To know he'd failed the one person who'd told him they were proud of him for the majority of his life hurt terribly.

"Bartowski!" Casey's sharp reprimand snapped Chuck back to the present to find all 3 participants in the conversation looking at him expectantly.

"Wha-what?" Chuck stammered, having not heard whatever it was he was apparently expected to answer. Casey and Beckman both rolled their eyes, while Sarah looked at him concernedly.

"I asked if there was anything else to add to your report," stated the deceptively diminutive redhead on the flatscreen in an annoyed tone.

"Yea- I mean no, nothing else." Chuck answered the incredibly intimidating woman.

"Very well then-"Beckman's statement was interrupted by the ringing of the phone on the desk next to her. The general cast the instrument a look that made one think it was a maggot in her food; ironically it was the same glance which had been directed at Chuck not a moment ago. Without further comment Beckman reached forward and hit whatever button it was that terminated their connection.

"Way to keep your head in the game, Bartowski." Casey snarked at him as he stood as he made to stand up. Quite used to Casey's mannerisms by now, Chuck just rolled his eyes.

"Chuck, are you-"Sarah began, only to be interrupted as the screen lit back up with the General's face, looking frazzled.

"Look sharp, team. We've got a call from the top." Was all she had time to say before the screen split, showing another face, one which had Chuck's eyes popping out of his head in recognition. The shock was enough that he didn't really register Casey and Sarah springing out of their seats. He did however register the kick Casey sent him under the table. Turning his head, he saw the position his handlers were in and sprang to his own feet, wishing he was wearing something a little more impressive than his Nerd Herd uniform to meet the President of the United States, even if it was just on a telecommunication screen.

"Mr. President." General Beckman said from her own standing position, "it's an honor, sir."

"Everyone seems to tell me that these days. I'll just take your word for it, General Beckman," came the reply from the smiling visage of Henry Hayes from his seat behind a desk in what was unmistakably the Oval Office. The general just looked at the screen as if not quite sure how to respond. Chuck privately wondered (but thanked G-D he wasn't stupid enough to blurt out) if this was because she didn't feel comfortable matching banter with the leader of the free world or because the entire concept of humor went straight over her head.

"So this is the team that just stopped World War 3 dead in its tracks, huh?" The President continued on.

"Yes sir." Answered the General. "I'd like you to meet NSA Major John Casey," Casey straightened to attention even more if such a thing were possible and saluted crisply, "CIA Agent Sarah Walker," Sarah stood ramrod straight and gave the President a crisp nod, "and- Charles Irving Bartowski, our human intersect." Chuck had no idea what to do in a situation like this, so he stood as straight as he could hoping not to make too much of a fool of himself and tried to suppress the flicker of annoyance at being identified as the intersect with such finality, as though that was all he was and all that he counted for.

The President nodded and began to reply.

"Sit down, all of you, please. I'm calling to say thank you, there's no need for you to stand at attention. It's good to meet you all. Your country owes you a great debt for your actions today. I trust appropriate citations have been filed for Major Casey and Agent Walker, General?"

"It's in the works, sir." Beckman said flatly, leading Chuck to wonder if it was far enough in the works yet to count as having started.

"And Mr. Bartowski," the President continued on, his eyes settling on Chuck's. Chuck swallowed as he stood there under the spotlights of those eyes, trying to figure out just what it was he was supposed to do, supposed to say.

"I've been reading a lot about you today, son."

Wow. Okay… Wow. How does one respond to that kind of statement from the President?

"Uh… th-thank you, sir. I'm honored." Short and to the point. Nothing that could get him in trouble. Right? As much as he thought he was frying under the heat of the President's laser eyes, he could also feel the gazes of Beckman, Casey, and Sarah. These didn't help.

"You've done some good work this past year, son. I can't imagine it's been easy for you."

Recognizing the babble reflex about to kick in, Chuck clamped down tightly on his lips, hoping to keep from making any mistakes which might come back to bite him once this surreal moment was over. Had the room been this hot a few minutes ago?

"You've helped put away some pretty bad faces, people that we've been after for years."

Seriously, if the entrance is in a freezer you'd think this room would be pretty cool around the clock, right?

"But I notice that you haven't really been getting anything for it."

Had he heard that right? He couldn't have heard that right, right? Chuck's mouth opened and closed several times goldfish style, finally settling on the shortest possible statement to still get his point across.

"H-huh?"

The President just smiled, apparently amused by the stupefied nerd.

"Agent Walker and Major Casey get citations, son. Paychecks. But you've been working two jobs, doing incredible service for your country in an environment you're not trained for. The whole purpose of this call was to ask if there's anything this country can do for you?"

Seriously, was the AC completely haywire? He had to remember to take a look at that. Later. For now he should probably focus on remaining conscious.

"Um- tha-that's incredibly generous of you, sir, Mr. President, sir, b-but I think I'm okay, I mean I don't, uh-"

He could practically hear Casey's eyes rolling from here. He definitely could tell Beckman wasn't happy with his inane rambling. What he wouldn't give to have Sarah in his line of sight right now. Unfortunately she was at the head of the table behind him, while he was on the left side facing the screen. Thankfully, the President didn't seem fazed by his lack of eloquence.

"Mr. Bartowski-"

"Chuck. You can call me Chuck. Sir. I mean everyone does, and if anyone has earned that right, you have. I mean-"

"Chuck it is then." Hayes cut him off, sensing how nervous the young man was. Chuck saw him fold put his hands on the desk in front of him lacing his fingers together. Chuck could tell the President was getting ready to say something important.

"Chuck, I ask men and women day after day to risk their lives defending this country. It's one of the hardest parts of this job I've had to get used to. Many of those men and women don't come back, and I have to live with knowing that I'm partially responsible for sending them off to their deaths. Those lives sit on my conscience, Chuck. One of the tiniest pieces of consolation I get is knowing they volunteered for this, that they saw it as their duty to protect their fellow citizens and signed up for this being fully aware of the risks. Another tiny piece of consolation is that this was the way they chose to earn their living, and they and their families were getting that living for it. I don't have either of those with you. You've been living this life for a year now. You never asked for it. You never committed a crime or made a mistake to have it thrust upon you. You were simply living your life normally like so many others when it fell out of the sky onto you. And the truth is you've stepped up to it admirably. You've acquitted yourself with patriotism, integrity, and honor, Chuck. I'd like to say thank you. To feel like I and the rest of the people who you've protected aren't taking you for granted. How can I do that?"

Wow. Wow again. Maybe if he just kept saying wow in his head it sink in a little further. Chuck was incredibly moved by the speech the President had uttered, as well as the earnest look in his eyes which told Chuck he'd meant every word.

"I-I don't- wow, Mr. President, I just- I don't know what else to say. I can't tell you how grateful I am to hear that. It really means a lot to me to hear you say that you think I'm doing a decent job at this."

Chuck saw something flicker in the President's eyes, but it was gone as soon as it had come and Chuck decided he'd just imagined it.

"Better than decent, son. You've done some fine work out there."

"Thank you, sir. But it's not just me. Sarah and Casey- I mean Agent Walker and Major Casey- they're the ones who do most of the risky work. I'm just here to give them the information from the intersect-"

"Begging your pardon, sir," came the sweet sound of Sarah's voice. Chuck turned and saw her looking at the President getting ready to speak, although Chuck could swear he saw the tiniest hint of annoyance in those blue eyes he loved so much. "But Chuck does a lot more than that. He has helped with a lot of situations beyond simply using the intersect and relaying data to us. Just 2 weeks ago he saved my life by leaping off a building to disable a trained assassin."

How much trouble would he get in if he vaulted over the table and kissed her right now? Sarah had always championed him, tried to make him see himself as worth more than just the computer in his head, but here she was defending him from himself directly to the President! What's more, if Chuck was any reader of facial expressions, he didn't think she'd won herself any points with General Beckman for doing so. That said, it seemed to go over far better with the President who looked quite impressed.

"Hmm. Must not have gotten up to that file yet. But I have to agree with you, Agent Walker. From what I've read Mr. Bartowski has done some admirable work of his own." Sarah seemed mollified and fell silent.

"Is there anything we can do for you, son? Anything that would make it worth it to you to have had all this trouble dumped in your lap?"

Worth it? What could possibly make it worth it? _Well, there is- NO! Don't go there! There's no way that'll ever happen, stop dreaming!_

Unfortunately, his traitorous face must have reflected his errant thought because the President seemed to jump on to him.

"Something, Chuck?"

Okay, got to steer out of these waters quickly. If they heard he was even thinking like this, there'd be trouble. And not just for him….

"No, not something, nothing sir. Just nothing."

An amused eyebrow went up on the President's face. "Really? Are you lying to me, Chuck?"

Cue the panic mode. "No! No, sir, not lying, I'd never lie to you sir! I mean, that is, it was just a random thought, nothing to bother you with sir, really!" Casting about wildly for somewhere else to redirect the President's attention, Chuck snapped to a memory of one of the hardest moments of the past year; of his life really. The President was opening his mouth to question him further, but Chuck cut him off. "But there is something, sir. Something which I'd like, if at all possible."

The President's brow crinkled in interest. Chuck could also feel the intense gazes of the other 3 participants in the conversation once again.

"And what's that Chuck?"

"Well, sir…"Chuck trailed off, swallowing, trying to draw strength to make his request, not really wanting to consider the circumstances under which it might be needed. "I'd like to ask for 5 minutes, sir.

"5 minutes?" the President asked, not understanding.

"Yes, sir. The next time I…. Next time it becomes an issue, I'd like to know if I could maybe have just 5 minutes to say goodbye to my family, sir."

The President's eyes narrowed, and Chuck saw another, longer, episode of that same look in his eyes he'd written off earlier. Apparently he'd said the wrong thing, so he rushed to do damage control.

"I mean- it was just a thought, sir. Something that I'd appreciate. You wouldn't even have to tell them what was happening to me, you could make up some kind of cover, I just don't like the thought of them coming home and finding me gone. It's a way in which my sister has been hurt repeatedly in the past, sir, and I don't want to do the same thing to her again if I can help it."

Yep, that look was definitely front and center in the President's eyes. But before he could say anything, another voice interjected.

"Wha- how did you know?" Casey had been so silent that if it weren't for the glares he could feel from him every so often Chuck was sure he'd have forgotten the big man was even there. But now, as Chuck looked at him, he saw something he'd barely ever seen on Casey's face; shock, sadness, maybe even a hint of pity. Chuck couldn't understand why, especially in the context of the question.

"What do you mean, how did I know, Casey? It'd be kind of hard for me not to now, I was standing right there."

"Yeah, but I was careful. I made sure you wouldn't know I had been there."

This just got Chuck even more confused. "What do you mean? Of course you were there. You got there right before Sarah and Pita girl fell off the roof."

Casey's eyes bugged out of his head and for a split second he had a distinct deer-in-the-headlights look before it vanished behind his normal spy mask.

"Why, what did you think he was talking about, Casey?" Sarah asked, her voice a little suspicious.

"Uh- nothing. Nothing at all. Just, you know… that."

"Care to take another stab at that, Major Casey?" came the not-so-much-request from the President.

There was that deer again. Casey just looked toward General Beckman, who sat at her desk looking, at least to Chuck's practiced eye at reading her anger, like she wanted to leap through the screen and throttle her agent.

"Major?" The President prodded, a hint of warning in his tone.

Casey took a deep breath, and addressed the President directly, specifically not making eye contact with anyone else at the table.

"Mr. President, I thought Bartowski was talking about an incident when the Beta Intersect was supposed to come on line, when General Beckman and Director Graham ordered me to terminate the asset."

"WHAT!?" Came the furious, simultaneous yells from both Hayes and Sarah, both of whom had leaped to their feet. Chuck's eyes bugged out of his head, barely able to comprehend this. Casey had been told to kill him? Casey got to his feet as well.

"I was in the asset's apartment sir, preparing to carry out my orders, when I learned of the Beta Intersect's destruction and called off the mission."

Sarah growled low and deep in her throat in, ironically, a very Caseyesque manner and advanced threateningly on the NSA agent. Casey turned, prepared both to defend himself as well as to die, knowing what a ticked off Sarah Walker was capable of, when Sarah was stopped by a hand on her arm. Sarah looked down at the hand and followed the arm it was attached to back to it's owner, seemingly surprised to see that it was Chuck.

"Chuck. What are you doing?" Sarah ground out.

"Sarah. Don't."

The blonde agent turned to regard the curly haired nerd. "Chuck, I don't think you understand. He was going to KILL you!"

"Yeah, I know." Chuck's voice was so soft, so worn, that Sarah's temper was dragged kicking and screaming back from the edge, at least slightly.

"I guess I was a fool to think I'd be able to be free of this. I mean if I still existed and had the intersect in my head, someone could capture me and use me, right Casey?"

The big man just nodded, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I guess on some level I've always known I was on borrowed time with my family, although I thought I was waiting to be shipped off to a deep dark hole somewhere, not for a bullet." Chuck made a shallow attempt at a smile. "But hey, it's quicker that way, right?"

"Chuck…" Sarah trailed of, her heart in her throat, her voice completely unusable.

"I guess I can't blame you guys for not telling me either. It was enough of a catch-22 when I knew I was facing a bunker. How could I function knowing that when I was done I'd be marked for death, right? The thing is… if I've learned anything over this past year, especially from the incident where I was being sent away to the bunker, it was to enjoy every moment I've had with my family, because it could very well be the last. Like I said, I've known I was on borrowed time for a while now. This just makes it official."

Chuck turned away from his partners towards the screen, meeting both Beckman's hard gaze and Hayes' livid glare. "Thank you so much for asking me what I want, Mr. President. But I learned a long time ago that I'm not one of those people who is destined to get what they want, no matter how hard I work for it. I figure the best I can do is help get other people what they want and keep it. That way I can at least feel some pride, some sense of accomplishment. That being said, now more than ever I would really appreciate it if I could have those 5 minutes with my family the next time the issue comes up."

Chuck was struggling epically to maintain his composure, not wanting to degrade his dignity any more than it already had been, a struggle made all the harder when he heard a soft whimper from behind him and turned to see Sarah, whose arm he still held onto, crying silently, the despair in her eyes plain to see. He reached out his other hand and gently wiped her tears away with his thumb, murmuring softly so that only she could hear, "Please don't cry. I hate it when you cry."

Sarah did her best to control her tears, not wanting to make this any harder for Chuck than it already was, but it was incredibly difficult for her. Her heart was being torn asunder and the only person who could put it back together again was in no shape to do so just now.

If Casey had been able to hear Chuck's thoughts at that moment he probably would've wanted to kill the kid; or at least part of the kid's mind. In all his years of service he'd never seen anyone act with more dignity than Bartowski was right then. The kid was being told he'd been marked for death for the greater good and was taking it like a man, like the finest of men. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to look himself in the mirror after this. He knew at that moment that the next time he needed to get Beckman to send someone else to do the job. He wouldn't be able to manage it. But he needed to make sure it was someone who'd be quick. He owed the kid that much.

A soft clearing of the throat brought all of the attention in the conversation back to the President, whose eyes roiled with emotions of all shapes and sizes. "Chuck. On my word as President of the United States, you'll have your 5 minutes, even if I have to send the 82nd Airborne to guard your house for those minutes. Now if you don't mind, could you excuse us please? I need a few moments with the agents."

Had Chuck's mind been operating at anywhere near full capacity, he'd have realized there was something off about that. But for right now, he was too busy absorbing the maelstrom that had been this conversation. He just wanted to get away; find some place quiet where he could regroup from all of the curve balls this discussion had sent his way. So he just nodded, said "Thank you, Mr. President," in a voice crammed to the gills with emotion and sincerity, and slowly fled the room with as much dignity as he could manage.

As soon as the door slid shut behind him the dam broke and the President bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU PEOPLE DONE TO THAT MAN?!"

**I'd love to hear your thoughts, PLEASE!**


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys are the best! Thank you so much for all of the warm reviews! I'm so happy you like my story! Hopefully I'll be getting up the next chapter a bit quicker, but no promises.**

Disclaimer: If I owned Chuck, Charah would've been together latest by the beginning of season 3.

The tension in the air was almost palpable, the President's irate question going unanswered while the 3 people it had been posed to were roasting under his fiery glare. After several long moments which felt infinitely longer to the torture-trained government operatives, the President's voice snapped out again.

"I don't like to be kept waiting."

Showing either courage or foolishness, General Beckman spoke up. "Mr. President, I'm not sure what precisely it is you're asking."

Hayes looked like his head was about to explode by this point. He opened his mouth before closing it again. Closing his eyes, he counted backward from 10 taking a deep breath before answering.

"General, you have no idea how lucky you are that I'm a career politician; I'm used to dealing with people ticking me off by saying stupid things. Agent Walker, you seem to have had no idea about this termination order, I'm thinking that means you're the best person to ask; how badly have the people I employ to keep my citizens safe treated one of those same citizens?"

Sarah was a little taken aback to get put on the spot like that, but her spy training served her well in recovering quickly. She took a moment to consider her answer, both what to say and how far she should go. This was dangerous ground she was treading considering that Beckman was listening, but the President looked none too happy with her just then, and besides, this was for Chuck.

"Well sir, Chuck has been putting his life on the line since the very beginning. He's saved a lot of lives, military and civilian. But all he's ever really gotten out of it is being in the room when we get a 'well done.' He receives little credit and no personal or professional respect. Rarely is he ever referred to by name, only 'the asset' or the 'the intersect'."

"That is standard procedure for an asset, Agent Walker." The General interrupted glowering, throwing Sarah's train of thought off, however she was able to pick up the General's train just fine.

"But he's not a normal asset!" she practically yelled. The President, who had looked pretty unhappy with Beckman for interrupting, stopped his rebuke and turned back to the agent. He, along with Casey, appeared quite curious as to what she meant by that.

"Assets are usually cultivated because they've gotten involved in something, either by carelessness or by design, or even from being manipulated. Chuck is none of those. He is no more or less than a victim. He had absolutely nothing to do with the intersect or the spy world before he was sent that email, even peripherally. Despite the fact that we showed up in his life all guns blazing he's never complained about the things we've asked of him, even some pretty extreme ones. He's objected, sure. Not to would've made him suicidal. But actual complaining after we answered him? Not once. We've put him into potentially deadly situations with no training, with nothing to protect him but the promises and skills of 2 people he'd just met whom the only thing he knew for sure about them was that they lie for a living. Beyond not complaining, he's gone out of his way to help. He even disobeys our orders to stay out of danger when he thinks he can help. And for what? We haven't given him so much as a thank you."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "No, I take that back. We've given him plenty. We've given him the need to lie to his family and friends repeatedly. Chuck's a naturally honest person, sir, and he is tirelessly dedicated to his loved ones. He hates having to lie to them. Even without them finding out about the lying we've caused some damage to his relationships with them. He misses or comes late to important occasions because he's out with us and has to make up excuses for why. Instead of thanking him for this, we've asked for more and threatened him when he raises objections, then we threaten him again just because.

Numerous times there have been discussions of locking him in an underground bunker. Once the CIA even tried to actually abduct him and go through with it. Chuck is a social animal. He's a people person. He wouldn't survive. He'd go insane in short order."

She swallowed a quick lump in her throat as she brought up the next point. "We've also damaged his opportunities to pursue his dreams. Chuck wants nothing more than to live a normal life with a woman he loves, but he can't pursue a woman showing interest. We obviously can't put priority to his feelings above national security, but do we have to act as if they don't matter at all even when there's no conflict? He's gone through a lot of pain in his life sir, and we've brought in a ton more."

"He's also caused a fair number of problems with his conduct, Mr. President." General Beckman chimed in.

"Because he's in a world he doesn't know!" Sarah shot back, beyond the point of showing respect to her superior, especially since technically Beckman wasn't **her** superior. "You keep expecting him to react like an agent and get angry when he doesn't despite the fact that he doesn't know how an agent would react. We all do." She said, looking down at the ground for a moment.

The President was silent, apparently deep in thought before speaking again.

"You've been pretty silent, Major Casey. What do you think?"

In other circumstances Sarah might have laughed at the trapped look on Casey's face, caught as he was between the question from the President, the glower from his longtime superior officer, and the venomous glare his partner was sending him due to his previous revelation and the position he was now in. He opened his mouth, not quite sure what was going to come out, when the discussion was interrupted by a chime from Sarah's phone. Looking down, she read the text message quickly and swallowed thickly, her face displaying a stream of powerful emotions for just a moment before quieting down.

"Agent Walker?" The President asked, wondering what could get a career spy so moved.

Instead of answering (a bold move considering the source, but Sarah wasn't quite thinking about just then) Sarah simply slid the phone across the table to Casey. Curious, the NSA agent turned the phone to him to read the message still displayed on the screen.

'_Sarah, please don't kill Casey. He was doing his job and was caught in a terrible position. Besides, it's kind of comforting that if someone was going to do it, it would be someone who might at least care. Tell the big guy he's my friend and I forgive him.'_

_Chuck_

John Casey hadn't cried in over 20 years. He didn't cry now. But it was one of the closest he'd ever come in his career, and it was all because of Bartowski.

'_Rat Bastard_.'

Casey slid Sarah's phone back and turned back to the President.

"Mr. President, I have to concur with Agent Walker. To be honest I haven't really thought about it from that perspective, but we have been fairly hard on the kid considering his background, and he's acquitted himself with honor. He's a trooper, sir. Maybe not the kind we're used to, but a trooper all the same."

He turned to Sarah and communicated with her in the way only partners who've seen their share of action together can. He gave the slightest nod to her and an almost unnoticeable glare that said '_you tell the kid I said that and… well I won't kill you because I'd probably die if I tried but I'll never admit that, and you still won't like what I'll do'_. Or something to that effect.

"So you don't agree with the termination order you almost carried out?"

The President's edgy tone snapped the partners back to the screen. "No, sir. I don't, and I said as much when I was given the order."

"Would you have done it, major?"

Sarah snapped her head around to look at Casey, honestly curious to hear his answer. Beckman appeared quite interested as well. For that matter… so did Casey.

"Honestly, sir? It was the closest I've ever come to disobeying a direct order, but yes, I think I would have. It's simply too ingrained in me to obey orders, no matter what I think of them. But every second that I keep protecting him makes it all the harder." He shared a look with Sarah, their eyes connecting and telling each other that they were back in sync. Partners to the end. And they'd team up to slaughter anyone who tried to get them to admit it out loud.

The President just sat there in silence for several moments, considering the 2 partners and their impassioned defense of their charge, before he spoke again.

"Why does he do it? What motivates him to act the way he does, especially in light of what you're saying about how he's been treated?"

Both Sarah and Casey considered the question for a moment, looking to each other. Casey saw an idea pop up in those bright blue eyes and nodded for her to take the lead.

"Mr. President, let me tell you a story. The first time I met Chuck Bartowski we didn't know what had happened to the intersect data after being sent to him, or why he of all people had received it. I was sent in to find out. I approached him at his workplace and started flirting with him. He seemed pretty interested." Sarah turned and shot a glare at Casey when he grunted in amusement.

"ANYWAY, while we were talking, a man ran up hysterical with his small daughter in a tutu behind him. He frantically told Chuck that he had recorded his daughter's ballet recital and couldn't get it to play. Turns out he didn't realize that his digital camcorder still needed tape. The man looked like his life was over, talking about how his wife was going to kill him. Chuck just looked at how distraught this man was, and despite the fact that he was a victim of his own mistakes to no fault of Chuck's, despite the fact that Chuck was talking to a woman showing interest (something he hadn't been doing much of for a long time), Chuck dropped everything and commandeered part of the store to stage an impromptu ballet recital for the girl.

As he and his coworkers finished setting it up Chuck saw that the ballerina was looking anxious, so he got down and asked her what was wrong. The little girl told him that she was always in the back of her recitals because she was too tall. Chuck just gave her this look and said that he knew a secret- that real ballerinas are tall. The ballerina smiled, nodded, and gave her recital.

This is the man we're dealing with Mr. President. He cares about people so much. He does what he does because everyone can find a place for themselves in that unnaturally big heart of his. Sometimes to his detriment."

Hayes nodded as the Sarah's tale wound down, his eyes distant as he considered what he had heard. Casey even reacted with an interested grunt- he'd never heard that story before. The General just sat in her office, her expression unreadable. Finally, after a long moment, Hayes looked Sarah right in the eye and spoke up.

"Agent Walker, I have an assignment for you."

Thrown by the statement, Sarah tilted her head questioningly. "Sir?"

"It's pretty clear that when I asked Mr. Bartowski about something he wanted that could make this whole ordeal worth it to him he lied when he said there was nothing. Do you concur?"

Sarah smiled slightly. "Yes, sir. As I said, Chuck has many talents, but lying isn't one of them."

Hayes grinned. "Doesn't surprise me at all. His face is too honest. Well, Agent Walker, your assignment is to figure out exactly what it is that he was thinking of. Tell him that short of a tactical nuke, I'll do whatever I can to make it happen. Tell him that he deserves it, and it's the least we can do. This country is _not_ an ungrateful user of people and as long as I have any say in the matter her heroes will never have to think it is."

Sarah blinked back the emotion that wanted to well up in her eyes as quickly and unobtrusively as she could.

"Thank you, sir." The words were simple, but the emotion behind them was anything but.

"Mr. President, with all due respect, I'm not quite certain that is appropriate. Mr. Bartowski is still a government asset that falls within certain guidelines of-"

"General Beckman, if anything has become clear to me in the course of this conversation, it's that your definition of what is _appropriate_ is grossly off. Something we will be addressing while Agent Walker carries out her assignment." Hayes finished his snappy retort, his glare positively daring Beckman to say anything. She wasn't that dumb.

Hayes nodded to Sarah, who got up and left the room, feeling her partner's solid gaze of support on her retreating back. Casey knew she'd find Bartowski, and he knew if anyone could worm what he'd been going to say out of him, it was Walker.

'_Now the only question is, is _She _going to be ready to hear it?"_


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm absolutely blown away! I've never had a story meet with the kind of response I've been getting with each and every chapter! Thank you all so much!**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I own Chuck. I also own Mars, Venus, and the United States of America. True story.**

Sarah walked out of the Orange Orange trying to figure out where Chuck would have gone. His shift at the Buy More wasn't quite over yet, and the excuse of being gone on an install used for the briefing would only last so long, so he'd be close. Her first thought was the beach, but in the state he had been in when he left he was in no shape to drive. Deciding to skip the guessing game Sarah got out her phone and pulled up the tracking data on Chuck's watch.

'_The Buy More? Chuck went back to work?_' Sarah had to admit to being surprised. She'd never have thought he was mentally in a position to do that. But as she entered the store, she saw no sign of his brown curls at the Nerd Herd desk or around the cleanup from the party put together for the Missile Command event. Another glance at her tracking screen now that she was closer led her to the closed blinds of the TV room in the back where they'd held some briefings before Castle had gone online. The door was locked, but to Sarah that was like putting orange cones in the way of a tank. Making sure nobody was watching, Sarah quickly picked the lock and entered the room to stop short at the sight in front of her.

Her heart broke as she took in the sight of Chuck huddled on the floor, his head resting on the knees brought up to his chest and his arms wrapped around those knees. He was facing the back of the room and thus didn't see her, but Sarah could tell by the heaves of his body that he was crying silently.

Quickly closing and relocking the door, Sarah moved over to Chuck and sat down on the floor next to him. Sensing her presence as she sat, Chuck turned to her. If her heart was broken before, the damn thing shattered completely seeing the lost and forlorn look in his expressive chocolate eyes. But even as she was processing this, a wan smile broke through his tears seemingly at just seeing her. Sarah couldn't understand how something which had just shattered could ache, but her heart managed it seeing the effect she had on Chuck. Nobody had ever been so effected emotionally, so comforted, as the lanky nerd by her mere presence, and it made her feel so special, so warm.

She wasn't quite sure how she knew what to do, but some deep instinct had her wrapping her hands around Chuck from the side and pulling him into a hug, laying his head down on her shoulder as he wept. The two of them stayed that way for several minutes until Chuck's tears faded to dry sobs, to finally being calm. They stayed there a little longer, before Chuck lifted his head off her shoulder and faced her. Ignoring the loss she seemed to feel at the lack of contact, she put all her attention on Chuck.

"Thank you." He said simply, but earnestly.

"Anytime, Chuck. I mean that." She truly did. He seemed to know it too, for his face broke out into a small grin. They just kept staring at each other for a few quiet moments before she felt compelled to break the silence.

"That was a really special thing you did, Chuck, that text you sent about Casey. You had absolutely no reason to forgive him so quickly, or to be worried about what I might do to him."

Chuck just shook his head. "Casey's my friend, and he was caught in an impossible situation. There's nothing he could do to stop it, and somehow it's comforting to know that the person who would end up carrying out the deed of ending my life could at least be someone who might feel like it was unfortunate or unfair. Almost like giving me a little send-off, you know?"

He gave an empty chuckle as he said this. Sarah hated seeing Chuck like this. He seemed so defeated, so forlorn. So unlike the happy nerd she knew and… uh, knew.

"It'd be more than unfortunate Chuck. It would be a tragedy, and it would be wrong, plain and simple," Sarah stated strongly.

Chuck gave a rueful smile. "Maybe, but somehow I don't think that's going to be enough to convince Beckman not to do it when the time comes."

Sarah was horrified by the defeat in his tone. She needed on some deep, fundamental level to bring some of his usual hope out.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Chuck turned to look at her questioningly. "After you left, the President kept on talking. I got the distinct impression he was **not** happy with Beckman about the way she treats you, especially that kill order. There's hope, Chuck."

His eyes widened slightly, his eyes boring into hers like a small child's, almost as though trying to search for any sign that she was kidding. Finding none, he gave her a shy smile.

"Thank you." He said again.

"For what?"

"For coming here. For comforting me. For just being you."

He was so earnest as he said this that she had no choice but to blush and look away. "You don't have to thank me for being myself. It's a pretty easy thing to do." She tried to joke lamely, to break the serious mood. He just cupped her chin and turned her head back to face him.

"We both know there's nothing easy about being you, but you do it anyway, and I need to thank you for that." Sarah almost melted into a puddle right then and there. Nobody had ever been able to make her feel anywhere near as special as this man. She wanted so badly at that moment to bring him some semblance of the joy he brought to her life, and that's when she remembered her mission.

"I actually came here for another reason, and I think it's something you'll like." Chuck cocked his head at her curiously. "The President wants to know what you were going to say when he asked you what could make this whole mess with the intersect worth it to you. He seemed pretty intent on making sure you get it."

If she thought her words would make Chuck happy, the sadness and aching longing which crept into his eyes took her totally by surprise. "I told him, there was nothing."

"Chuck," she began, mystified. "The President of the United States wants to do this for you. He wants to help you get what you want. You deserve this Chuck."

He shook his head, almost desperately. "No, no, I can't. I can't. He won't do it, and if I tell him I'll lose everything. And anyway I can't."

"Chuck, he can make it happen. He wants to help. You just have to tell him what he needs to help you with."

Chuck whipped his head around to her. "No, Sarah, I can't lose you!"

Sarah stopped dead at the statement as his eyes widened, the rich brown becoming more apparent as he seemed to realize what he'd said before dropping his face into his hands. After a brief pause, Sarah spoke.

"Chuck… what makes you think you'd lose me? I'm not going anywhere."

Chuck just shook his head.

Sarah hardened her voice, putting on the commanding tone that Chuck almost always listened to, at least in the heat of the moment. "Talk to me, Chuck. What's going on? Why would you lose me just for asking for what you want?"

Chuck just looked up at her, his eyes glazed over with tears. He looked helpless, beaten. He said 3 words, whispered so softly she could barely hear them even this close to him. But for the impact the words had, he might as well have shouted another Gettysburg Address into a megaphone.

"I want you."

Her brain was frozen, turned into ice cream. She was struggling to comprehend, as though all of her faculties were buried in quicksand. She couldn't grasp the statement. It was too powerful, too slippery. But he kept on talking, seeming resigned.

"If you offered me the ability to go back in time and keep Bryce from sending me that email, it would be so tempting, because it would stop all the trouble that has come into my life. But it would also lose me you, and I don't think I could live with that. If I tell the President, he'll take you away. I can't risk that, Sarah. I _can't_."

Sarah was still struggling to keep up. "B-but you said you wanted normal. That I couldn't give you that."

Chuck just looked at her sadly. "And there's the other problem. In the job you work in, feelings like that could get you killed. I had to keep you safe. I had to make sure you didn't lose your focus in the field. Even if it meant-"his voice wobbled, the emotion getting caught in his throat before he could clear it. "Even if it meant breaking my heart."

Her head was spinning. She cast about wildly, trying to get her bearings, almost not daring to believe what she was hearing. "You- you didn't mean it? You really want me?" she said in a whisper.

Chuck looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "How could any man not want you? You're gorgeous, caring, cool, kick-ass. You're everything anyone could want and a whole hell of a lot more. But I don't know if I can be what you deserve, and I won't risk your life to find out."

He started to look away, but her hand found his chin and brought his gaze back to hers, her eyes watering. "Of course you can be what I deserve. Heck, if anyone doesn't deserve the other I don't deserve you. You're so much more than you think, Chuck, and I hate it when you put yourself down like that, I _hate_ it. As for the other part, which of us is a trained spy here? Why don't you let me make decisions like that?"

Chuck's eyes drifted away as though her argument hadn't reached him, and suddenly a thought occurred to her.

"Wait a minute. We were getting pretty close before you gave that speech at the fountain. And this doesn't sound like something that would come out of your mouth, Chuck. Where are you getting this from?"

Chuck met her eyes sheepishly. "Bryce may have mentioned something when he was here…" He broke off seeing the look in her eyes. Probably a good idea as she was nearly apoplectic with rage.

"Bryce! You said that to me because of BRYCE? He was jealous, Chuck! He wanted another shot at me! How could you be so foolish!?"

"I thought it might be something like that," Chuck defended himself, "but I couldn't take that risk! This is your life, Sarah! That's more important than my feelings, it's more important than anything!"

Dammit, why couldn't this man just let her stay angry with him, especially when he deserved it? It was really starting to tick her off, but what could she do when he said things like that? Putting both hands on either side of his face, Sarah looked deep into his eyes.

"Chuck, I appreciate that you were trying to protect me. But I don't need you to do that. I'm here to protect you. I know what I can do, and I know where to draw the limits. If we handle it properly, I think we might have a shot at a real relationship without putting either one of us in danger. And this is our best shot to make that happen. Now I need you to be honest with me, Chuck. Do you want that? Do you want… me?" She almost didn't recognize her voice at the small, shy tone it had reached by the end.

"More than anything." He breathed.

Her smile practically brought the sun right there into the room. "Then you have me. It won't be easy, but we can do it. This is our chance, Chuck. We just need to take it."

Sarah watched as her second favorite look appeared in Chuck's eyes, the one where his eyes would move back and forth as his incredible brain chewed on some conundrum or other. Finally, the look died down to be replaced with her first favorite, the one which (and this should've been telling she realizes as she finally allows herself to think on it) the one that seems specially reserved for her. His eyes settled on her and lit up, a bright twinkle dancing in them as he took her in. He threw his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder, crushing her body to his. The two sat there for several moments, reveling in the feel of the other in their arms, before Chuck stood up and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on," Chuck said, turning and pulling her toward the door, drawing a laugh from her lips at his enthusiasm. "Let's go take our chance."

The two of them made their way back out into the chaos of the Buy More. Chuck clocked out, his shift just then finishing, and they made their way to the door, dodging that crazy efficiency inspector who seemed to be on the prowl as the cleanup from the party was completed. They headed back to the Orange Orange, and went back to the freezer towards the entrance to Castle. As they reached the hidden door Sarah stopped Chuck briefly with a tug on the arm.

"Chuck, The President is on our side, but that doesn't mean he's automatically going to go for this, okay? We're still probably going to need to convince him."

Chuck just grinned. "I know, Sarah. I know exactly what I'm going to do."

Sarah cocked her eyebrow at him questioningly, but he just turned and scanned his eye into the reader to open up the door to the secret base. As the pair walked in and descended the stairs, they saw Casey sitting at the table still deep in the conference with the President and General Beckman. Hayes was quite red in the face, as though he'd been doing quite a bit of shouting, and Beckman was looking like she'd swallowed something she wasn't entirely fond of. But a gleam returned to the President's eye as he saw Chuck and Sarah come into his field of vision.

"Mr. Bartowski. Tell me, has Agent Walker completed her assignment?" he asked with a hint of a smile.

Chuck returned the smile sheepishly. "She has, sir."

"And?"

"Before I say anything, can I request a moment alone with Major Casey?"

This garnered looks of surprise from all 4 of the other participants in the discussion, but the President shook it off quickly and shrugged. "No problem. I have a few questions for Agent Walker anyway to determine just how much of a mess I'm going to have to be cleaning up. Major Casey has only been talking about the NSA mostly and I'm already not happy with what I'm hearing."

Chuck nodded and looked at Casey, who got up from the table and headed towards the door leading out of the conference room to the rest of Castle. Chuck turned to follow, sharing a brief look with Sarah on the way. She shot him a puzzled glance, which he returned with a simple 'trust me' stare. She shrugged and settled into a seat to speak with the President, and Chuck kept going. Once he found himself in the hallway with the NSA operative, he shut the door and turned to the large man.

"Alright, what's this about, Bartowski?"

Chuck took a deep breath, knowing he was about to begin a process where his dreams could crash and burn at any step along the way.

"I don't think it'll come as any great surprise to you that I love Sarah."

Casey grunted. _'No, really? Next you'll be telling me the sky is blue."_

Chuck chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, didn't think that'd come as much of a surprise." He drew in a deep breath. "Listen, I'm worried. I want to ask the President if we can have a relationship. I have plenty of arguments to back us up. What I'm worried about is whether or not that's the right thing to do."

Casey grunted again, this time more of a 'huh?'"

Chuck sighed. "Look, Casey… last time Bryce was here he said something to me… something about how if Sarah had feelings for me it could get her killed out in the field."

Casey snorted in disgust. "You listened to _Larkin_ of all people? Damn, Bartowski, you really are a moron."

Chuck rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. He was jealous. I get that, alright? But that doesn't mean he was wrong. What he said made sense. And if being with Sarah could put her life in danger… I can't do that."

Chuck trailed off sadly, but he was broken from his self-pity as he took in the look on Casey's face. He watched as Casey's eyes showed a semblance of surprise and- could that possibly be respect? No, he had to be imagining that. But he didn't have much time to question it, because the look vanished. Except as it left Casey gave what seemed to be a self-deprecating eye-roll. Chuck had no idea what to make of what he was seeing on the big man's face, so he simply continued on with what he had to say.

"Sarah told me to let her worry about that-and I trust her, I do. It's just… if this is a matter of her feelings causing her problems, she may not be the best judge of whether or not it's a problem, you know? I wasn't quite sure what to do, until I realized that I do have an objective 3rd party I can trust to make that judgment. John, I'm asking you this as my friend. I may be risking the life of the woman that I love, but I need to know if that is a serious concern or if she can handle it. I'm asking you this because I trust you and respect your opinion. Can Sarah and I safely start a relationship?"

This time Chuck was sure that was surprise he saw on Casey's face. The two men held their stares for a few moments before Casey spoke.

"Just so we're clear. You're asking me this for real? If I say no, you won't go for Walker?"

Chuck shook his head sadly. He had been somewhat expecting this, thought he'd been prepared for it, but it still hurt. "Yeah, Casey. I won't. I love her, John. I won't put her in danger. And in this one case… if she says yes and you say no I listen to you anytime over her."

Casey nodded his head thoughtfully. "Alright, Bartowski. In that case, go for it."

Chuck nodded sadly and turned toward the door. "Yeah I thought you might say that. Thanks for being honest Cas-"He cut himself off and spun around as his brain caught up. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"I said go for it, idiot." Casey said, although his voice lacked any of the malice which would seem natural for his words. "You made it clear that you knew the risks and that you were prepared to accept my judgment about whether or not your relationship would interfere. As long as you can do that, I think you two can go for it. Just keep the lady feelings away from me."

Chuck's eyes lit up and began glistening as he threw himself towards Casey, arms extended. "Oh, Thank you thank you thank you…."

Less than an inch away from being wrapped in a bear hug Casey growled out, "If you want to keep any man-parts for Walker you'd better rethink what you're about to do."

Chuck stopped short and jumped back as though burned, lifting his arms high in the air in the traditional 'don't shoot, I'm unarmed pose'.

"Right, sorry about that. I just-," Chuck stopped and put his arms down before looking at the other man. "Thanks, Casey. I mean it." He turned for the door.

"Bartowski."

Chuck turned back to the NSA agent, whom he was surprised to see looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

"Um… Thanks. For- you know- not being- upset- about the whole- killing you thing."

Chuck looked Casey straight in the eye. "Anytime, John. You're my friend, and I know you were in a terrible position. I respect that." He turned to make for the door once more.

"Um-"

Chuck stopped short, not turning around as it sounded like Casey were, if possible, even more uncomfortable now than he had been just a minute ago, which Chuck wouldn't have previously thought was feasible, and if there was one thing Chuck knew, it was that John Casey preferred to be as nondescript as possible on the rare occasion he had to discuss feelings.

"If that order came through again- not that I think it would, but if it did- I- it would cause problems."

Chuck smiled at Casey's very Caseyish attempt to call him friend. "Thanks, Casey."

The two men walked back through without another word.

As they came back into the conference room, the President trailed off from whatever train of thought he'd been on and looked toward the 2 newcomers.

"So, Chuck. Are you ready to be honest with me?"

Chuck smiled as he walked around Sarah seated at the head of the table and took the seat on the left facing the screen, with Casey taking the opposite position. "Yes, sir, I think I am."

Hayes smiled warmly. "Alright then, son. What exactly is it you want?"

Chuck blew out a deep breath, and gathered all of his courage. "I want… Sarah, sir."

The President looked confused for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "Mr. Bartowski-," Chuck winced noting the reversion to the surname and the not-so-friendly tone which so far hadn't been directed at him. "-I'm shocked and honestly a little disappointed you'd ask me something like that. I can't pimp out government agents like sex toys for-"

Chuck's eyes widened comically. He looked as though his eyeballs were actually about to pop out.

"No, No, NO, Sir." Chuck shouted frantically waving his arms back and forth in front of his face as though trying to dispel some demon the notion might have summoned. "I didn't mean- I mean I don't want- I mean…" Chuck just trailed off helplessly and looked towards his handlers. Casey snorted and Sarah was giggling madly at Chuck's discomfort. This earned both government agents a glare from the lanky nerd. They weren't intimidated.

"Mr. President," Sarah took over as her laugher finally subsided. "What Chuck is trying to say is that he and I would like permission to start a romantic relationship."

"What?!" Beckman exclaimed, glaring at them through the screen. "You can't possibly be serious! That would go against every single-"

"SHUT UP!" Hayes roared. All 8 eyes on the conference widened, and Beckman's mouth snapped shut. "Don't you think you're in enough trouble already General? Don't answer that." He stated with a raised hand as diminutive redhead opened her mouth. "It was rhetorical."

Hayes rolled his eyes before turning back to Chuck. "I have to say I'm relieved, Chuck. You scared me for a second there."

Chuck laughed humorlessly. "Yes, sir. Me too."

Hayes smiled, apparently amused, before his face fell into a serious expression. "Still, General Beckman is right about one thing. There are rules against this kind of relationship. They are there for a reason. I can't just arbitrarily ignore them. I could have her reassigned and then the 2 of you could-"

Chuck jumped onto this as fast as he could. "No, sir wait! Please, sir. It wouldn't be arbitrary. We have several arguments prepared to make our case. I honestly think we might be able to persuade you to keep her here but let us pursue a relationship."

Beckman glared at Chuck icily through the screen. Hayes, meanwhile looked dubious for a moment as he studied Chuck before his gaze softened into a thoughtful, open expression. "I'm always open to being proven wrong. Fire away."

Chuck smiled gratefully. "Thank you, sir." Chuck swallowed hard, knowing this was his shot and he couldn't blow it. Still, he wasn't quite sure where to begin. Luckily Sarah seemed to sense this and opened up for him.

"First of all, Mr. President, similar to what we discussed before, many of the regulations regarding handler-asset relationships are in place to deal with the normal type of asset whose interests don't necessarily coincide with ours. In that case, a handler with compromised judgment would be disastrous. But Chuck isn't that type of asset. He's voluntarily on our side, he's done nothing wrong, in fact he's done quite a bit right. His interests and ours are one and the same, sir."

Hayes inclined his head. "Okay, I'll give you that. But there are other reasons for those rules."

"Yes, sir. To keep our judgment from being compromised in the field." Sarah nodded and took a deep breath. "Mr. President. The truth of the matter is when I met Chuck a year ago I think I fell in love with him at least to some extent within about 3 minutes. It just took me a while longer to realize it." Sarah had to break off for a moment, as Chuck was turned to face her, his eyes glistening and his heart visibly in his throat. Sarah forced herself to take a deep breath and look away from those 2 watery brown sinkholes. "In that year since, Chuck and I have been in the field in many dangerous situations, and I believe our record speaks for itself."

Chuck swiveled his chair to look back at the President as fast as he could, as though remembering he still was part of this discussion. "I fell for her about the same time, sir. Although I realized it pretty quickly." He finished sheepishly, blushing.

The President chuckled lightly before replying. "I understand that, you 2, and I respect it. But I'm not concerned with the past, but rather with the future. It only needs for something to go wrong once to be a disaster, and if you 2 begin a relationship and your feelings get deeper…."

"Mr. President," Chuck broke in, honestly astonished at himself for having the audacity to interrupt the President of the United States. "I've been in one other serious relationship in my life. I thought I loved that woman enough that I was planning on proposing to her, spending the rest of my life with her. And I can tell you that what I feel for Sarah is already far, far deeper than what I felt for that woman."

The President nodded in understanding, and seemed to try to placate. "I understand that, Chuck. That's why I'm suggesting reassigning her. You 2 can be together, you can be her home to go to…"

"No, sir," Chuck said, shaking his head. "That's not enough. Take Sarah away, and I'll be dead inside of a week."

The statement was so bald, so final, that it took all the others by surprise. Chuck, as though something had occurred to him while he was feeling the stares on him, turned to Casey.

"No offense, big guy."

"What exactly do you mean, Chuck? You know we'd assign another agent to your team." Hayes replied.

"I know sir, but it doesn't matter. It has to be Sarah."

"Look, Mr. Bartowski," the general broke in. The President sent her a look that plainly said to tread carefully. "I know you think highly of Agent Walker but there are other people just as good as she is."

Chuck snorted. "I happen to disagree with you on that General but that's neither here nor there. It doesn't matter if you found someone just as good as she is or if you made some kind of Superman and sent him in her place. It has to be her."

"Why, Chuck?" asked the President.

If anyone had been expecting this to be some childish argument without any real thought (cough, Beckman, cough), they were surprised at the conviction and rationality in his voice as Chuck answered.

"Simple. You can send in another agent, heck, if you send in another 10 of them, without her, I'm going to get _myself_ killed."

"Mr. Bartowski," the President said, astonished, "are you actually threatening to commit suicide if we remove Agent Walker?"

"No, sir, of course not. That's not what I mean. Sir, Casey and Sarah have been doing an incredible job protecting me. But there are times, especially when we go out on missions, where I need to be able to take action of some kind myself."

Chuck sighed for a moment, thinking that if there was anyone he'd ever intended to discuss this with, it certainly wasn't this group he'd had in mind. _'Well, maybe some of them.'_

"Sir, I'm a nerd who works in a Buy More. I'm out there up against big men with guns. Do you have any idea how scary that thought is? How much that can affect a lowlife underachiever like me?" Chuck could hear Sarah opening her mouth to object but waved her off. "Okay, maybe the lowlife was a little strong, but the point is, I don't think I'm an especially strong person, sir. But from the beginning I've had Sarah to be there to believe in me, to encourage me, to make me feel as though I had the strength and ability to fight. I get my strength from the people that I love sir, and I can't rely on any of the others because I'm not allowed to talk to them about this. Even if I was, that wouldn't help me out in the field. And besides, all of the people that I love together weren't able to knock me out of the rut I fell into after what happened to me at Stanford. It was only Sarah who managed to do that."

Chuck took a deep breath, looking back at Sarah for a moment, seeing the pure adoration in her misty eyes as she looked at him, before turning back to the screen. "I love her sir. She's my strength, my will to fight. Take her away and in the spy world I'm a dead man walking."

The President stared at Chuck contemplatively for several moments before turning to Casey.

"Major, you've been their partner for as long as they've known each other. What do you think?"

Casey glanced over at his partners for a moment before turning back to the President. "Sir, when I first realized Bartowski had serious feelings for Agent Walker I became concerned. After all, he's a vital asset. What would we do if he got it into his mind to sacrifice himself for her?"

The President nodded. "What made you realize it wasn't an issue?"

Casey shook his head ruefully. "Nothing at all, sir."

Hayes inclined his head questioningly. "Then why didn't you report the problem?"

"Because I came to realize our problem was much bigger."

Hayes frowned. "Explain."

"Sir, Bartowski would sacrifice his life to save Walker's. Period. Anyone who knows them who doubts that is a fool. The problem, sir, is that he would also sacrifice his life for mine. He would do so for a random Joe Shmow walking down the street. Hell, he'd even risk his life for Bryce Larkin's, and that douche had brought more grief to his life than Fulcrum ever has. It's simply the way the kid's wired sir. I realized that he was in this fight with us, and that's who he is. We could try and curb it, keep him from doing it, but there's only so far that would go. And the one person who'd have the best chance at keeping him from jumping in front of a bullet would be Walker.

Bartowski was right before. Walker is his strength in the field. The kid doesn't have the training. On paper there's no way he should be able to do what he does, but Walker gets him through it. In our first run into the field, which wasn't even a mission Walker was able to talk him through landing a helicopter! But more than that, she's an anchor for him. Bartowski is the kind of man who doesn't give a thought to the consequences when others are in danger, sir. I can't fault him for that. But it makes protecting him rather difficult. But in the field Walker is his reminder that him not coming home is a bad thing, which is important to avoid.

As for Walker, sir, does she get affected when Bartowski is in trouble? Yes. Does her judgment get impaired? No. She comes through, even with the feelings she has for him. And she is the best partner I've ever had. Bartowski has the best chance with the both of us. The truth is that the times Bartowski tends to get into the most serious trouble are when he's on the outs with Walker, which is usually because they have to do something messed up to keep their relationship from becoming real. If anything, letting them have a relationship would remove that from the equation."

Casey finished his little speech and turned to his partners, both of whom were looking at him gratefully and gave them a swift, tiny nod, which they immediately reciprocated. When the 3 turned back to the screen, Chuck could see that the President was close. They just needed 1 more push, so he jumped in.

"Sir, Casey is right. Sarah is better for me in the field. But it's more than that. Part of the reason our team as a whole has been as successful as it has is that we have a dynamic which works very well. We bolster each other's strengths and cover each other's weaknesses. When Sarah and Casey get into a fight because of the politics of their agencies, I'm the one on the outside who can bring them back in. When Casey and I get into a fight because I'm being too childish or he's being too gruff, Sarah reels us in. When Sarah and I are having problems, Casey is our anchor to reality who keeps us on the straight and narrow (which he'd still be here to do, sir). We're a team, and I think our record shows we're a good one.

You asked me what would make all of this junk I've had to go through because of the interesct worth it. The one and only answer is Sarah. For her, I'd take the intersect a thousand times. You said I deserved something. The truth is we both do. Sarah has given a lot for her country sir and truthfully I'm frightened by how little it seems to have given back to her sometimes. I'm asking you, I'm _pleading_ with you, sir. Give us the chance to show that our team can stay as good as it is with Sarah and I being happy."

Hayes stared at them long and hard, his face scrunched up in quiet contemplation. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he nodded.

"Alright."

Chuck shook his head slightly as though he were checking to make sure there weren't anything in his ears that might have fed him that word.

"You have my permission to pursue a genuine relationship."

"Mr. President, I really don't think-"

"End the statement right there, General. You really don't think. And while you're at it I truly hope you don't think we're done, because believe me, we're not."

Hayes ended the harsh statement with a glare and turned back to the others. "Major Casey, I'm expecting you to keep a close eye on your partners to determine how this affects their working relationship."

Casey nodded resolutely. "Yes, sir."

Hayes nodded. "Alright. You do deserve this, Chuck. And on behalf of the American people I want to say thank you for what you have and are doing for them. It's truly tragic that they don't and probably never will know that they have a hero like you. The truth is you deserve a lot more than this."

"Mr. President," Chuck exclaimed, now on his feet, giving off his widest Bartowski grin. "You've given me more than I could ever ask for. Thank you so much."

Hayes smiled. "Congratulations you 2. Keep up the good work."

With that, the screen finally went dark.

Chuck whipped around, practically vaulting over his chair, and grabbed Sarah by the hips, lifting her up into the air and twirling her around. Sarah laughed gleefully and planted her lips on Chuck's, causing him to nearly drop her.

"Ugh." Casey grunted. "Can't you at least wait until I'm out of the room?"

Sarah turned to him, beaming. "If that's a problem, for you, I'd advise you to turn off your surveillance for tonight. Besides," she turned and smirked devilishly at Chuck, "I'll be there the whole time."

As the beautiful blonde dragged the dumbstruck nerd up the stairs, Casey groaned severely, putting his head in his hands. "I'm never going to unhear that."

"Better get used to it!" Sarah shouted as the doors closed behind the new couple, leaving one NSA Major banging his head on the table wondering if in trying to do a good deed he'd just signed his own death warrant.

**Only an epilogue to go! Please Review!**


	5. Epilogue

**Here we are! The epilogue of my very first Chuck story! What an experience, this story, although one of my quickest written and completed, is probably one of the highest in terms of numbers of reviews! All I can say is you guys rock! My next Chuck story is already in the planning stages, hopefully it'll start soon, but it'll be both longer and slower than this one.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah. I clearly own Chuck. That's why this is fanfiction and not canon proper.**

Henry Hayes sat at his desk in the oval office, reading over yet another intelligence report from the most effective team in any of his intelligence services. It had been a little over a year since the day Chuck Bartowski had used an outdated arcade game to prevent the outbreak of another world war and earned the President's decision to become the nerd's personal genie. And despite some personal reservations at the beginning, Hayes had never had cause to regret his decision. Quite the opposite in fact.

Team Bartowski had been good from the very beginning, there was no doubt about that. Their record had spoken for itself even before the day Hayes had met them, but in the time since they'd become unreal.

First off, the situation the team had found themselves in had brought to Hayes' attention that his intelligence agencies were abusing their power and, to an extent, their agents. He'd swiftly stepped in to correct the problem, and the investigation had quickly revealed enough evidence to have General Beckman and the leading candidate for replacing the late Director Graham removed from their positions. He still had to shake his head in disbelief from time to time at what these people had gotten up to, particularly things like the so called 'red test'. Okay, so they weren't entirely to blame for that, as that particular abuse had begun before the current administration of the services and thus they had been taking cues from what they already knew, but seriously? These people had been unilaterally deciding to assassinate people. Many of them American citizens no less. Their belief in being above the law had had Hayes honestly wanting to wring some peoples' necks from time to time, but fortunately the imagined look on his wife's face should he end up in jail while being the President had helped him fight the urge. He'd been honestly moved by the patriotism Agents Casey and Walker had displayed in going over some of the most difficult moments in their careers with the legal department to help figure out just how badly their leaders had usurped the agents' ideas of what was legal and what wasn't.

Team Bartowski's efficiency in the field had also been staggering in the time since Hayes' decision. In less than six months they'd managed to almost single-handedly dismantle Fulcrum. Hayes was still in awe of the heroic move Chuck had made in downloading the Intersect 2.0 even after the original designer who also happened to be Chuck's father (?!) had managed to remove the first version from his mind. That man had distinguished himself as a true American hero, and Hayes had been more than happy to accept the recommendations his handlers turned partners had given over the course of the year. It had been a simple matter to get him the degree from Stanford that he'd been cheated out of. Beckman, before being removed from her position, had made a little noise about making him a probationary field analyst with back pay, and Hayes had to admit that that had been one of the times since becoming President that he'd had the most fun shouting at someone. The medals had been no brainers as well, particularly after their final confrontation with Fulcrum leader and billionaire conglomerate Ted Roark.

And on a more personal level, Hayes was thrilled that Chuck and Agent Walker had been able to carry on their romantic relationship without affecting their work. At least twice, that relationship had even helped their operation. Shortly after Hayes had given them permission to begin, a Fulcrum agent with a previous tie to Chuck's past had attempted to seduce him, but thanks to his newfound relationship he'd stopped her dead in her tracks, even before they'd discovered Ms. Roberts' affiliation with the rogue agency. And more recently, in their newfound fight against the Ring, an unstable CIA agent named Daniel Shaw had attempted to manipulate the team in order to gain control over the Intersect. However, thanks to their relationship, Chuck and Sarah had been on to him the moment he began trying to seduce her and had been able to use him when he'd eventually turned on them to lead them to the Ring's director along with one of its elders, placing both behind bars and striking a serious blow against the organization. Yes, all in all, Henry Hayes was very pleased with the decisions he'd made that day.

"Sir, this just came for you." Came the voice of one of his secretaries, a woman named Barbara as she handed him an envelope. Hayes took the envelope and was interested to see that this was one of the few pieces of mail that came to him personally these days, rather than in his capacity as President. He ripped open the envelope and pulled out a calligraphy-filled cardboard card. Taking a quick look over it, Hayes gave a broad grin.

"Barbara!" He called out.

"Yes, sir?" she asked, stopping at the door she'd been about to walk back out of.

"We have that trip to LA in August to support the Governor's reelection campaign, don't we?"

Barbara pushed some buttons on the trusty tablet she always carried with her that dictated each one of Hayes' days. "Yes, sir. From the 16th to the 20th."

Hayes immediately knew the date on the card before him was no coincidence and had to admit to being rather touched. His smile got a little wider as he shook his head at their ability to know about these things. _'One of the advantages of being spies with a living computer.'_

"Can you please set aside a few hours in the afternoon of the 17th for an off the radar trip, and see if the First Lady's schedule can accommodate having her join us on that day?"

"Of course, sir," Barbara replied, making some notations on her tablet. "What is this in reference to?"

Hayes' grin was practically into cat catching the canary mode at this point.

"A couple of heroes are getting married."

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